Brazing machine



J. R. VICKERY BRAZING MACHINE April 24, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July27, 1944 INVENTOR Jbwv k. Wan 59% J- R. VICKERY BRAZING MACHINE April24, 1951 Filed July 27, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. VICKERYI BRAZINGMACHINE April 24, 1951 Filed July 27, 1944 5 Shegts-Sheet 5 INVENTOR WMw W m m April 24, 1951 J. R. VICKERY 2,549,368

'BRAZING MACHINE Filed July 27, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR 75/7 RWCKf/PY,

l 'atented Apr. 24,1951

omen

"Applicatibn'july' 27, 1Messr ;mamas This invention relates to brazingmachines and processes and 'to articles made thereby, particularly to amachine for automatically brazingthe 'ferrule seam of an electricterminal in which the ferrule is'formed by rolling up a fiat blank andbringing the ends close together ina butt seam. Terminals for electricalconductors having rolled ferrules have long been used'but are open tothe objection "when crimped onto the endiofa wire or cable, etc., thatthe seam is apt to spread open at the point where the rolled edges abut,unless carefully designed dies are used with the seam properly orientedin the dies.

The present invention aims to provide a machine by which the seams inrolled ferrules can be quickly closed'and the edges permanently unitedthus providing a ferrule having 'all the advantages of one made bydeep'dr'awing or extruding, etc., while retaining the recognizedadvantages of a-ferrule made by stamping and rolling up fro'mjfiat sheetor strip.

A further object of the invention is to'efie'ct the brazing of a seamsimultaneously 'with'a' heat treatin in the same operation. I, V I "Alfurther' object is to produce a rolled ferrule terminal connector, andparticularlythose made of copp r, in which the ferrule i fully annealedso as tobe's uit'able for crimping while the tongue or terminalconnector part of the terminalretains the properties and crystallinestructure developed therein during cold working of the I 7 To thi s endtheinvention contemplates so holdin; the terminal connector to be brazed,with'its tongue between relatively cold metal jaws of relatively highheat capacity while the ferrule is heated to a temperaturesuitablenforflbrazing' that by reason of the rapid conduction from thetongue into the metal jaws, the tongue 'i fkept below the temperature atwhich its crystal structure would beradically changed. H H

A further object of the invention is "so to bring the ferrule andbrazing material into contactjwith each other that acomplete brazingofthe seam and the filling of any cavities or depressionsin the abuttingedges will be brought about. To this end the invention contemplatesfirst heating the ferrule to a temperature at Whichfitwill effecta quickfusion of th brazin material, and then presenting the brazing materialto the s'eamgadyantageouslyin the form of a wire or other strip, in suchmanner thatit extends lengthwise of the seam and'parallel to it so thatit is, brought into contact with the ferrule throughout thelength of theseam, thus insuring complete filling of the i'seam andany recesses;'pressions; or cavities therein, and automatically melting off Ifroi'nfthe "wire or "other strip'ijust theamount or brazing metalrequired for the seam.

'An' important feature of 'the inventionfis in controlling the "feedingof I the brazing material into aposition where it is contacted by a'heated ferrulefby mean ort iefr lel lf, i'srieventingeiicessive feeding"ofu'nii'sed" brazin iater ial "in the event that "one or more "ferrulesshould "be "omitted from a series approaching the brazing point. i IAnother important feature of t e invention is 'the'c o'ntiol 6f thedelivery of terminals clamping jaws by the movement of the areceivingrelationto aracewayand' their closing by m1ivernentawayfrom'thera'ceway. I

Other objects andiim'pjortant' features or inv'entionto which'ref erence has'ndt hereiriabove will be apparenflwhen the follow I g descriptionand 'c'lail'ns areconsidered in connection 'with 'the accompanyindrawing Alth'dughinthe"ccompanyingfdrawings the shown a preferre ernboirnent,

S me to "be either"eihaustive'or lim ting of the inven- 'tichfbut, onthe "contrary, arejchosen ior the purposes of illustratingfthe, :ntionlino dr thatothrs' skilled; in the art 'mayfso fully undert" th w in .tidlt pblinthere" M h ey 'may 'embddy fit and aha t it fousiforipsiachasmay befbes't smear r mremems of itsparticular use.

In 1 the "drawings1: V ,I l i 'e,

body'in ide "showing var-1011s hidden parts top plan view of the machineconnecting the vertical angle bars 2 and 4 and forming supports forfurther pairs of front and rear vertical angle bars I0 and I2,longitudinal bars I l and I 6, connecting thevertical angle bars 2 and 4at their tops, crossbars I8 and20, connecting the two vertical anglebars 2 and 4, and, v on each side of the machine, a shelf 22, whichserves as support for the driving motor 24 and for the transmissionhousing 26.

The housing 26 may "have therein any suitable speed;reducingtransmission, e. g., as. a worm and worm wheel (not shown); for drivingthe shaft 28,

which has fixed thereon the V-belt pulley 36 by which the mechanism,hereinafter to be described,

is driven. Also supported on the crossbars 22 is a reel 32 from which isdrawn the wire 34 of brazing rn aterialyfor example any suitablecommercial brazing; alloy, advantageously of the self-fluxing type whichreadily wets the solid metal and runs into -,the capillary crack betweenthe abutted edges. -A suitable alloy for th purposes of the presentinvention is composed of 15% silver, 80% copper and 5% phosphorous, i.e. about 2.5% less phosphorous than the silver-copperphosphorouseutectic v l I The carrier forthe terminals tobe brazed comprises, asshown, a rotatable carrier disc having anotched periphery and alsohaving peripherally extending grooves, at least in the clamping portionsof the serrations. This carrier 36is mounted=on a shaft 38having itsbearings in bearing supports 40 and bolted upon the respectivecrossbars'I i and. I6. The carrier 36 is keyed or othrwise fixed to theshaft 38 to turn therewith. Also keyed "or otherwisefixed t an extensionof theshaft 38, beyond its, bearing AZ, is a ratchet wheeled bywhichtheca'r rier 36 can be intermittently turned to bring successiveclamps intothe various operative positions necessary to performthefunctions of the machine. I I "The V-belt fdriving'pulley 3B isconnected by th'e"V'belt 46, to a larger V-belt pulley 18 on a shafteflhaving itsbearing s in bearing supports 52fand54 bolted upon therespective crossbars i l. and, I6.. i The pulley 48 is keyed orotherwise connected to the shaft 50 to .turntherewith. On an extensionof the shaft 56' beyond the bearing memberfed is keyedza pitman' wheel56 having therein a 'crankpin 58 for reciprocating the pawloperating bar60. At its upper end the pawl-operating bar or connecting rod 66 ispivotally connected at 62 to'a pawl-carrying rock-arm v6d arranged torock about the shaft 36 so that its rocking movement is concentric withthe rotation of the ratchet wheel 44. A pawl 66 is pivoted at 61 on therock-arm 64 and the pawl is urged into engagement with the successiveteeth of the ratchet wheel 44 by a spring 68'connected at one end to apin extension on the pawl and at its 4, in, to clamp the terminals whichare to be brazed and hold them in the successive positions where theyare operated upon when the carrier is retated step-by-step. Each ofthese terminal clamps comprises a nose portion 10, adapted to bereceived within the opening I26 in the terminal clamped thereby, thenose preferably also entering the groove I4 in the clamping face of thecarrier. The nose 10 is formed on the centered arm 16 of a bellcrank T8fixed to 'a short shaft 80 extending through a bearing hole in thecarrier 36,

.the other arm 62 of the bellcrank (shown in broken lines in Figure 2,since it lies behind the carrier 36) extends toward the center of thecarrier 36 and is arranged to be engaged by a cam 96 hereinafter to bedescribed. On the front side of the carrienas viewed in Figure 2, is thethird arm 86 of the bellcrank I8, this arm being connected by a spring66 to a flange 86 at the hub of the carrier 36.

The spring 66 tends to hold the nose In in clamping relation to thenotched face of the carrier 36, except when the arm 18 is moved out ofsuch clamping relation by engagement of the arm 82 with the cam 96hereinafter to be described.

The arm 84 is also provided with an upper face 32 for a purposehereinafter to be set forth. An arm 94 on the rocker arm 66 carries acam 96, shown in broken lines in Figure 2, this cam being adjustable onthe arm 94 by means of the slot 35 through which passes the clampingbolt 9?. It will be seen that the high part of the cam begin at thepoint A in Figure 2 and extends to the point B, beyond which there is ashort valley C and then another high dwell D. The purpose of the dwell Dis to open the terminal clamp, preparatory for reception of a terminal.Beyond the dwell D the cam 96 releases the arms 82 in turn so that thearm '18 of each is pulled down by its spring 86 and thereby holds aterminal I66 clamped under its nose 16 until the carrier 36 has made ahalf turn, when the arm 82 again meets the cam 96 and is swung out atthe point A, so as to release the arm I6 and drop the terminal into thechute 269.

Y By reason of the mounting of cam 96 on the arm 66, it moves forwardwith the carrier 36 and thus the cam actions just described occur onlyon the return. stroke of the ratchet crank 64-95 when the carrier 36 isat rest.

A raceway 66, shown more clearly in Figure 2, is provided for feedingthe terminals I00 successively into the clamps on the carrier 36.; Thisraceway comprises as its floor an inclined bar or framemember I62adjustably connected by lugs IM'and'IM, respectively, to crossbars I06and vertical bars I I6 of an upper frame. This mounting of the raceway98 provides for gravity feed of the terminals into position to beintroduced into the successive terminal clamps on the carrier 36. At thebottom of the raceway 98, the terminals I06 strike the retaining andreleasing finger II2 on the weighted bellcrank I I4 pivoted at II'I.Both the finger H2 and the weight H6 are adjustable to adapt themechanism for feeding of different terminals. The weight H8 on the armother .end to pin 69 carried'by the rock-arm Y H6 serves to return themember II2 to its operative terminal-retaining" position after eachfeeding operation. The downward movement of the arm I I6 is limited by ashaft I26.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that, when one of theterminal clamps comes under the terminal retainer H2, in the rotation ofthe carrier 36, its arm 82 is in the valley C of cam 36 so that the bellcrank 18 can pass under the arm II2 without disturbing its position.When the step movement is complete, the arm 84 is under the bolt I28 onthe stop arm I32; and, therefore, when the return movement of the cambrings the high point D under the arm 82 of the bellcrank 78 to open theterminal clamp at 70, the action is also transmitted to the stop arm I32thus releasing the line of terminals held by the pin I 40, thus allowingthe lowermost terminal to drop into position under the clamping nose 70on the arm 76. This position is established by the finger I I2.

As the cam 96 moves to the end of its return stroke, the dwell D passesout from under the arm 82, whereupon the arm 76 drops and its nose 70engagesin the eye I26 of the terminal I00. At the same time the arm I32drops back to its normal position so that its stop-pin I40 is in frontof the ferrule of the next terminal I00, so that the column of terminalsis held above the pin I40 until after the next step movement. When thespring 86 closes the clamp 70, this closing causes the nose 70 on theclamp to enter the opening I26 in the tongue of the terminal, and thusnot only to clamp it firmly upon the carrier, but also so to locate itthat its ferrule will be in proper position for the brazing operation.

The retainer I I2, being held only by the weight H3, rides over theterminal I00 and then moves back to operative position by action of theweight II 8, when the carrier 36 is rotated to the next step.

The bolt I28, as shown, is adjustably screwed into the lever I32 andsecured by a lock nut I34. The lever I32 is fulcrumed upon thestationary shaft I26 and is bent upwardly at its left hand end, as seenin Figure 1, so that this upwardly bent end is approximately parallel tothe raceway 88. This end of the lever I32 is also slotted, as shown atI36, to provide for the adjustment of a slide I38 mounted thereon. Theslide I38 is provided near its lower end with a retaining pin I40arranged to hold back in the raceway 98 the terminal which is next abovethe one retained by the retainer I I 2. It will be seen thatthisretaining pin I40 still retains the terminal I 00 which is next abovethe one on the retainer I I2, when the latter terminal is moved out fromthe raceway '98 by further movement of the carrier 36.

The terminal, which has been fed into the clamp in the manner describedand which has been clamped on the carrier 36, as shown in the upper partof Figure 2, is carried in the stepwise movement of the carrier 36 firstpast the funnel guide 2I0, where any misalignment of the terminals iscorrected, and at the next step into the position, shown at E in Figure1, in which the terminal strikes the feeler I88 for the purpose morefully explained below. The next step of the carrier 36 brings theferrule of the terminal to the position F where it is heated by thefixed torch I44.

It will be noted that the clamping of theto control the flame .toconcentrate it 'onthe ferrule. This flame is advantageously of aslightly reducing character to prepare the surface for the brazingmaterial.

As shown particularly in Figure 2, the flame of the torch I42 isdirected against the ferrule of the terminal I00, which is at rest infront of it so long as the carrier 36 is at rest between its successivestep movements. The torch is, however, so adjusted that this will besufficient to heat the ferrule of the terminal to a brazing andannealing temperature, e. g. above about 1300 F.

The brazing material 34, which is to be used to braze or solder togetherthe two edges of, and to seal the scam in, the ferrule of the terminalI00, is in continuous strip form, advantageously a wire. This wire 34 isguided through a tube I54 into a position in the path of and parallelwith the seam, as the terminal moves on the carrier 36 away from theheating station F. At its other end the tube I 54 receives the wire 34from a feeding device. The end of the wire-guiding tube I54 which isadjacent to the point of use is held in a holder I56 having a threadedstem I58 arranged to be locked in the desired angular position by nuts.I60 in a bracket arm I62, adjustably connected to an upright anglebracket I84 boltedto the crossbar I4 of the main frame. The lower end ofthe tube I 54 is mounted on a. feeding table I66 bolted to the crossbarI 4. The wire 34, beyond this tube, passes through guide eyes I67, fromthe reel 32, and across the table I66. The wire is fed step-by-step intothe tube I 54 by the knife-like end I63 of a feeding dog I70 pivoted ontheconnecting-rod 66.

As shown in Figure 2, the connecting rod 60 is slotted and the feedingdog I70 is'pivote'd at I72 in said slot, a portion of this feeding dogI76 extending above the connecting rod 60 where it may be engaged by anadjustable stop I74 threaded through a bracket I76 mounted upon theupper side of the connecting rod 60. The stop I74 limits the movement ofthe dog I70 about the pivot I72, when the dog I70 is picked up oiT thetable I66. Since the crank pin 58 on the return stroke moves away fromthe table I66, the dog I70 is held away from the wire 34, and thereforecannot drag it backward. A spring I78, which is coiled about the pivotI76, and connected at one end to the connecting rod 60, as shown at I80, and at its other end to a pin I82 on th dog I70,

'- holds the knife I68 against the table I86 during the feedingoperation.

The .pin I82 also serves as a pivot for a cam follower I84 on the dogI70. The purpose of the cam wheel I84 is to hold the dog 57!] outoffeeding relation to' the wire 34 on the table I68 at the end of itsfeeding stroke and when. therefis no terminal being fed into position tobe brazed.

The plate I33 at the edge of the table 566 provides a cam or track forthe wheel I86; and this plate is adjustably mounted on the table bybolts I85 received in slots so that the cam slope I86 will engage thewheel I84 earlier or later in the travel of the dog I70 so as to feed ashorter or longer portion of the wire 34.

It will be seen that ordinarily the reciprocating movement of theconnecting rod 60 will carry the dog I 70 up beyond the releasing camI86. whereby to lift the knife I63 from the wire 34; and that the actionof the spring I78 will tend to move the knife edge I68 into engagementwith the wire 34 to efiect the feed thereof. This engagement of theknife edge I68 with the Wire will be only sufiicient to cause it to bitelightl into glasses the wire for feeding purposes, without severing orcutting through the wire.

If no terminal is about to come into brazing position, it is, of course,not desirable that the Wire be fed. To prevent the feeding of the wire afeeler I88 has been provided at the next station ahead of that at whichheating occurs. This feeler I88 is so connected to the wire-feedingmechanism that, if the feeler I88 be not engaged by the ferrule of aterminal about to be moved into the heating position F, the dog II willbe held out of feeding relation to the Wire, or vice versa, and nolength of brazing Wire will be fed.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the feeler I38 is mounted on an arm I90,held in a clamping head I92 by which it may be adjusted on a shaft I94and clamped in the proper angular position required for a given sizeterminal. The shaft I94 has its bearings in the upper frame members I08;and, as shown particularly in Figure 2, the forward end I95 of the shaftI94 is bent at right angles to form a crank arm which is threaded toreceive an adjustable counterweight I96 by which the weight of theconnections 200, 202, 204, etc., now to be described may be almost, butnot quite, counterbalanced. Also secured to the shaft I94 by a clampinghead I92, is an arm 200 which, with the arm I90 forms a bellcrank lever.The arm 200 is bent rearwardly, as shown in Figure 2, to permit itsconnection with a link 202 by which connection is made between the arm200 (and through it with feeler I88) and the end of crank arm 204 whichforms the hinge pin on a plate 206. This hinge pin, as shown, is pivotedon plate I83 so that the two plates can be aligned to provide a trackfor the wheel I84 andthus hold the knife edge I68 above the wire, orplate 206 is swung away when the feeler I88 is held out by a ferrule,and thus the knife edge is al-, lowed to drop into the wire to effectfeeding thereof on the return stroke of the connecting rod 60.

When, however, the parts are in position shown in Figure 2, that is,with no termina1 in position in the clamp adjacent to the feeler I88,the counterweight I96 is preferably so adjusted on the threaded angularextension I94 of the shaft I95 that it almost counterbalances the pullof the link 202 and the parts connected therewith, butleaving enoughunbalanced pull to swing the plate 206 against the table I66 when thefeeler I88 finds no terminal on the carrier 36. If, however, the ferruleof a terminal be moved forward toward the brazing position, beneath thefeeler I88, on the step movement of the carrier 36,'t hen the feeler I88will rock the bellcrank, formed'by the arm I90 and the arm 200, in acounterclockwise direction (as seen in Figure 2) and thus pull the link202 upwardly and swing the Plate 206 out of the path of the wheel I84,so that the knife edge I68 can drop into engagement with the wire 34 onthe back stroke of the connection rod 60. A length of the brazing wire34 will thus be pushed into position to be used, this feeding of thewire 34 taking place after the movement of the carrier 36 which bringsthe terminal into the brazing position and While the ferrule is beingheated to brazing temperature. v

The brazing wire 34 is projected into the path of the ferrule in adirection such that it is approximately parallel to the seam when it iscontacted by the ferrule, but advantageously at a slight angle so thatits end touches the seam first and it is bent progressively, holding allparts of the wire against the seam until it is progressively fused bycontact with the hot ferrule.

The feeler I88 may be sufiiciently long so that plate 206 is held outuntil roll I84 is in feeding position on the table I66, or the stop I14may be adjusted so that wheel I84 is held just below the edge of theplate 206 so that it cannot come into alignment with plate I83 until thewheel I84 passed up the cam slope I86.

The ferrule of the terminal I00, after having been heated to a red heatduring its dwell in the position in front of the heating torch I42, willthen be carried away from the flame of the torch I42 by the next steprotation of the carrier 36. As the carrier starts to turn, the heatedferrule of the terminal I00 engages a portion of the wire 34 whichprojects beyond the upper end of the tube I54, this contact beingdirectly at the joint where the edges of the wings of the terminal blankare butted together to form the ferrule. The red hot ferrule quicklyfuses off the required length of the brazing wire and the brazing of thejoint will at once be effected.

The time of the step rest at the station F and the intensity of heatingby the flame from the torch I44 are set to bring the ferrule to asuitable annealing temperature above the flow point of the brazingmetal, and the number of steps to the release station A, where theterminals are dropped into a quenching bath is chosen to give anappropriate period for the readjustment of grain structure required forannealing.

It will be noted that the heating of the terminal is localized in theferrule both because the tongue portion of the terminal is held againstthe cool periphery of the carrier 36 and because the ferrule is heldlaterally outward from and above the tongue, while the flame isconcentrated and directed across the ferrule only. Thus theworkhardening of the tongue, and of any parts associated therewith, issubstantially retained even though the ferrule is annealed to a deadsoft condition.

As shown in Figure 2, when the carrier 36 has rotated so as to bring thebrazed terminal to the station adjacent the high point A on the cam 96,the arm 82 of its clamp rides up onto the high part A of the cam 96 andthus effects the release of the terminal. When the clamp 10 is thusopened, the released terminal will drop out of the carrier onto thechute 209 and thence into a quenching tank 208.

In order that each terminal I00 may have the seam of its ferruleproperly aligned with the brazing wire 34, as it comes into contacttherewith, a

pair of funnel guides 2 I 0 are arranged in a V, ta-

pering from a wide mouth to a narrow exit just wide enough to pass aproperly aligned terminal ferrule. Thees guides, being arranged besidethe path of travel of the terminals, serve to align each terminalaccurately, as it is moved through the V between the guides shortlybefore the ferrule nector portion (1. e., the tongue in the type shownin Figure 4) of each terminal extending down- 9 ward in the raceway.With the driving wheel 30 constantly rotating and slowly effecting thereciprocation of the connecting rod 60 through the crank pin 58 on thepitman wheel 56, a step-bystep turning of the carrier 36 will beefiected as the pawl 66 is driven back and forth, alternately engagingand riding over the ratchet 44. As the carrier 36 is thus turned in astep-by-step manner, the successive terminal clamps 1i] mounted thereonwill be brought into terminal-receiving position under the raceway 98.

As the carrier 36 moves to this position, the cam 96 moves with it, buton the return stroke of the rocker 64, the cam 96 moves its nose D underthe arm 82 to open the clamp for reception of a terminal, and at thesame time, through the connected arm 64 to lift the stop I32 and allowthe line of terminals to slide down against the terminal positioningretainer H2. As the rocker 5 nears the end of its return travelthe noseDon cam 96 passes beyond the arm 82 allowing it to drop back, under pullof the spring 86, and thereby closing the clamp 16' onto the lowermostterminal, while the return of the arm 84 allows the stop arm I32 to dropback intoposition where its pin I40 will hold the remaining terminals inthe raceway 98.

When the carrier 36 moves again the clamp 10 carries the terminal 100with it, pushing the retaining finger H2 ahead of the terminal againstthe pull of the weight H8. As the clamped terminal moves away from theraceway, the next terminal moves down against the pin Mil into positionto be delivered to the next clamp during the next operation of the cam96.

Each clamped terminal will have its ferrule projecting from theperiphery of the carrier 3 as it is carried from the raceway toward thepoint of brazing, and, as it passes the straightener 216, it will be soaligned that, after heating, its seam will meet the brazing wire 34 ingood alignment. Thus as it comes into contact therewith on the nextmovement of the carrier, the wire will fuse and flow .into' the seam bythe heat of the ferrule :and will braze and seal the seam.

As above pointed out, the speed of rotation of the carrier 36" and thedistance from the heating station F to the discharge station A arecorrelated to allow a suitable time for annealing of the 'ferrule, whilethe tongue is still protected from annealing heat by being clamped inthe cold jaws of the terminal clamp. The annealing is concluded onrelease of the terminal at A by dropping it down the chute 269 into aquenching tank '208 as hereinabove described. From the discharge stationA to the slope B on cam 96, the *clamps H! are held open, by the longdwell on the cam, so as to facilitate dissipation of heat ab- :sorbedfrom the heated terminal.

I claim:

1. A brazing machine which comprises a rotary carrier, a series ofcircumferentially spaced clamps pivotally mounted thereon, each having abellcrank arm extending therefrom, springs urging the clamps against thecarrier, reciprocating cams adapted to engage said bellcrank arms ofclamps in receiving and discharging positions respectively, a racewayadjacent said receiving position for feeding a supply of articles to bebrazed toward said carrier, a detent for holding said supply in theraceway and having a part adapted to be engaged by said clamp whenopened in said receiving position, whereby to release said supply toallow an article to enter the clamp, funnel guides adjacent the "path ofsaid articles in the clamps'beyond said receiving position, whereby tostraighten the articles in said clamps, a heater adjacent the path ofsaid articles for heating a portion thereof above brazing temperature,reciprocating pawl means for feeding a brazing strip, a guide adjacentsaid heating position for guiding the brazing strip into the path ofthat part of the article which is to be brazed, a feeler arm in the pathof said "articleswhen approaching the' heating position, a-mow ableguide for said pawl normally holding it our of strip-feeding engagement,said guide being connected to said feeler so as to be moved out of saidsupporting position when said fe'eler' is moved by an article.

2. A brazing machine for brazing rerruies'cn connectors as defined inclaim 1- wherein the clamp is adapted to hold the connector portion inconducting contact with} a cold metal mas's and the ferrule freelyprojecting and the heater is adapted to heat only the projecting portionand to heat it to annealing temperature, and a container for a quenchingbath is provided'ben'eath said release position.

3. In a brazing machine, the combination with a carrier having a definedpath of movement and clamping means on said carrier for holding thearticle to be brazed, of: heating means solo'cated along said path ofmovement that said article is presented in heat-receiving relationthereto,.

means arranged to present brazing material in' position to be engaged bythe part of the heated f article which is to be brazed immediately afterit leaves the heating means in its travel with the carrier, a racewayfor holding the articles to be brazed and arranged to present theartijclesi inposition tobe delivered to the clamping means, and in whichautomatic means are provided for opening the clamping means as it movesinto article-receiving relation to the raceway and for closing it as itmoves pastgsaid raceway, f and article-retaining means associated withsaid raceway and arrangedto' be operated by sai'dJ clamping means as itmoves into and out (if, receiving relation to the raceway foreffectingthe' delivery of a single article into saiujdampingf means andthe movement ofa succeeding article into position to be delivered to theclamping means when it is next brought into receiving relation.

4. In a brazing machine, the combination with a rotatable carrier and aseries of clamps circumferentially arranged thereon for successivelyreceiving and holding articles to be brazed, of heating means so locatedalong the path of travel of said clamping means that the articles heldtherein are successively presented in heat-receiving relation thereto,means for presenting brazing material in position to be engaged by thepart of each heated article which is to be brazed immediately after itleaves the heating means in its travel with the carrier said meansincluding means for feeding successive portions of the brazing materialinto engaging position as successive articles are moved past saidheating means, a raceway for holding the articles to be brazed arrangedat a point along the path of travel of the clamping means to deliversaid articles to said clamping means, means for automatically openingeach clamping means as it comes into receiving relation to said racewayand for automatically closing it after it has received the article, andmeans operated by the movement of each clamping means past the racewayfor 11 insuring the discharge from the raceway of only a single articlefor each clamping means.

5. In a brazing machine for automatically brazing the seam of aconnector of the type integrally including a tongue portion and aferrule portion embodying a seam to be brazed: a connector carrierconstrained to travel through a predetermined path of carrier movement,a clamp on said carrier adapted to close upon and retain a connectortongue portion, a path of ferrule movement defined by the ferruleportion of a connector when carried by said clamp as said clamp movesalong said path of carrier movement, a heating unit located on said pathof ferrule movement defining a heating region traversed by said path offerrule movement, a brazing material feed embodying a feed guide havinga feeding axis which intersects said path of ferrule movement, and aconnector supply including a supply passageway opening upon said path ofcarrier movement; said connector supply including a sensing deviceresponsive to the presence of a connector, said carrier incorporating aclamp operating assembly disposed to close said clamp upon the tongue ofa connector positioned at the end of said supply passageway when saidclamp arrives in clamping relationship with such positioned connector,said brazing material feed incorporating control mechanism coordinatedwith said sensing device to provide a predetermined amount of brazingmaterial in said path of ferrule movement, said heating region beinglocated between the point on said path of ferrule movement where saidclamp is closed on such tongue and the point where said predeterminedamount of brazing material is positioned, and the heating capacity ofsaid heating unit being at least sufficient to anneal the ferruleportion of a connector as it traverses said heating region and to raiseit to at least a temperature at which it will melt brazing material uponcontact. I

6. In a brazing machine for automatically brazing the seam of. aconnector of the type in tegrally including a tongue portion and aferrule portion embodying a seam to be brazed: a connector carrierconstrained to travel through a predetermined path of carrier movement,a clamp on said carrier adapted to close upon and retain a connectortongue portion, a path of ferrule movement defined by the ferruleportion of a connector when carried by said clamp as said clamp movesalong said path of carrier movement, a heating unit located on said pathof ferrule movement defining a, heating region traversed by said path offerrule movement, a brazing material feed embodying a feed guide havinga feeding axis intersecting said path of ferrule movement, and aconnector supply including a supply passageway opening upon said path ofcarrier movement; said carrier incorporating a clamp operating assemblydisposed to close said clamp upon the tongue of a connector positionedat the end of said supply passageway when said clamp arrives in clampingrelationship with such positioned connector, said heating region beinglocated on said path of ferrule movement beyond the point where saidclamp is closed upon such tongue, a subassembly forming a part of saidclamp operating assembly operative upon the clamp at a point on saidpath of carrier movement beyond said heating region and beyond theintersection of the brazing material feeding axis with said path ofcarrier movement to open said clamp, said carrier having good heatconducting properties, and said path of carrier movement including aportion where said carrier is enabled to dissipate heat acquired whilepassing through said heating region.

JOHN R. VICKERY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

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